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This former Irish bar now attracts a young and branché (hip) clientele with its cozy, low-lit jazz atmosphere and live DJs on the weekend. The food isn’t bad, either, with yummy treats like warm camembert with caramelized syrup and Poilâne bread. The Saturday brunch (11am to 3pm) is a good deal at just €12, with free espresso refills. Stop by later in the evening to test out the cocktails under the sparkly-starred ceiling.
L’Alcazar: 62 Rue Mazarine, 6th, M° Odéon, ☎ 01 53 10 19 99. Trendy fusion (€€€). Open daily for lunch and dinner (until 1am Thursday through Saturday). Reservations recommended.
One of the most stylish brasseries on the Left Bank, L’Alcazar features slick, modern design and Franco-British fusion cuisine by UK restaurant magnate Terence Conran. Dine on steak tartare with fries or grilled salmon in anisette sauce, with groovy lounge music from the Mezzanine Bar in the background. Sunday brunch €26, kids’ brunch €13.
Colette Water Bar: 213 Rue St-Honoré, 1st, M° Tuileries, ☎ 01 55 35 33 90. Trendy/light (€). Open Monday through Saturday, 11am to 7pm.
The Colette concept boutique, copied many times over around town, is still the place to find the latest must-have fashions. The Water Bar on the lower level is more than just a gimmick: the menu features over 70 kinds of bottled waters from around the world. Seriously thin models and stiletto’d fashion editors lounge at the vast, communal tables sipping their eau du jour and nibbling salads or barely-there sandwiches. There’s also organic, pre-packaged food and juices to go.
Anahi: 49 Rue Volta, 3rd, M° Arts-et-Metiers, ☎ 01 48 87 88 24. Trendy Argentinean (€€€). Open daily, 8pm to 2am (seating until midnight). Reservations a must.
It may look like a condemned building from the outside (no sign, either; look for the entrance on the corner of Rue Vertbois), but ever since it opened in the 1980s, this Argentinean restaurant in a former butcher shop attracts the beautiful crowd looking for fantastic steaks and tango tunes. Come later in the evening for the best atmosphere.
404: 69 Rue des Gravilliers, 3rd, M° Rambuteau or Arts-et-Métiers, ☎ 01 42 74 57 81. Upscale Morrocan (€€€). Open daily for lunch and dinner (seating until midnight). Reservations a must.
The international jet-set’s favorite Moroccan restaurant is a small and intimate affair, with mood lighting and subtle oriental décor. Everyone keeps one discreet eye on the VIP mezzanine in case Madonna or Galliano stop by, but the food and service are enough to make for a memorable meal if they don’t.
L’Envue: 39 Rue Boissy d’Anglas, 8th, M° Madeleine or Concorde, ☎ 01 42 65 10 49. Trendy modern (€€€). Open Monday through Saturday, 8am to 2am.
Seafood platters and vegetarian dishes such as warm goat cheese salads and baby spinach with ricotta highlight the menu at this chic restaurant decorated in feminine mauve and pink tones. You can watch Fashion TV on the flat-screen monitors over the bar or dine with the fashion crowd at pastel glass tables in the quiet upstairs dining room. This is a good place to stop in for hot chocolate and croissants at breakfast or fresh juice during a shopping break.
L’Appart: 9-11 Rue du Colisée, 8th, M° Franklin-D-Roosevelt, ☎ 01 53 75 42 00. Trendy modern (€€€). Open daily for lunch and dinner. Bar open 7pm to 2am. Reservations recommended.
This restaurant on two levels is decorated to look like a stylish Parisian apartment. The modern French cuisine is based on Mediterranean and terroir flavors (with a few vegetarian options). Join the chic locals and their matching children for the Sunday brunch (12:30 to 3pm), with special kids’ menu and cooking demonstrations to keep them entertained. The lower-level bar has a good selection of cigars and cocktails.
Poona Lounge: 25 Rue Marbeuf, 8th, M° Franklin-D-Roosevelt, ☎ 01 40 70 09 99. Trendy Indian fusion (€€€). Open daily, 9am to 3am, Friday and Saturday until 5am.
How many Buddha-statued restaurants can one city take? Apparently quite a few, judging by the success of the latest Bollywood-inspired Poona Lounge. Its intimate interior is colorful and cozy, and the French-Indian fusion food is actually very well prepared (unlike the food in many of its nearby competitors). There’s a Poona Express lunch for just €20, but it’s more relaxing to lounge upstairs on the long cushions late into the night accompanied by appropriately themed DJ mixes.
Asian: 30 Avenue George V, 8th, M° George V, ☎ 01 56 89 11 00, www.asian.fr. Trendy Asian mix (€€€). Open daily (except Saturday lunch), noon to 2am. Kitchen open non-stop until 1am.
The fashionable Asian restaurant features a mix of Far Eastern flavors and a modern-but-intimate Zen décor on two levels. There is seating for up to 400 and an indoor bamboo “forest.” Food is served anytime of day by the models-in-waiting, and a large selection of teas is available for afternoon dégustations. You can also sit at the bar upstairs for sake and fresh sushi prepared in front of you.
Le Martel: 3 Rue Martel, 10th, M° Château-d’Eau, ☎ 01 47 70 67 56, Trendy North-African (€€). Open for lunch Monday through Friday, for dinner Monday through Saturday. Reservations recommended.
Tucked between kebab shops and wholesalers, this hardly seems to be the kind of place that attracts every big name in fashion and music, and yet, it is. Run by an ex-waiter from 404 (one of Madonna’s favorite Paris restaurants), Le Martel serves up North African and French fusion cuisine, with couscous, tangines (a traditional Moroccan dish) and giant salads on the menu.
Chai 33: 33 Cour St-Emilion 12th, M° Cour St-Emilion, ☎ 01 53 44 01 01, www.chai33.com. Upscale wine bar (€€€). Restaurant open daily, noon to 3pm and 7:30pm to midnight. Bar open from 7pm.
Chai 33 (pronounced “shay”) is a trendy wine shop, lounge bar and restaurant set in the restored wine warehouses of Bercy Village, with a modern loft décor of steel, glass and sandblasted stone. As the coolest kid on the block, it’s popular with the branché (connected) see-and-be-seen crowd, but when the novelty has worn off, it’s the unique concept that keeps people coming back. The wines are arranged by flavor, not region, so if you know you like dry whites or fruity, young reds, you can’t mess up. Restaurant guests follow the sommelier down to the cave to pick their own bottle with as much or as little advice as needed. The international wine list is accompanied by traditional French cuisine. When the weather is nice, be sure to reserve a table at one of the two terraces overlooking the pedestrian-only Bercy Village.
Apollo: 3 Place Denfert-Rochereau, 14th, M° Denfert-Rochereau, ☎ 01 45 38 76 77. Modern fusion (€€€). Open daily for lunch and dinner until midnight.
Is this ultra-modern restaurant in a former train depot (right next to the RER entrance) hip or hype? It depends on personal taste. If you like funky, design-heavy décor – and are willing to pay extra for it – give this unique place a try. There’s a private terrace that is actually pretty quiet, even when the RER goes past. The tables overlooking the traffic-jams at Place Denfert-Rochereau are only interesting if you’re waiting for the next airport shuttle. The cuisine is a fusion of international flavors and traditional French dishes.
L’Entrepôt: 7-9 Rue Francis de Préssensé 14th, M° Pernety, ☎ 01 45 40 60 70, www.lentrepot.fr. Modern French (€€€). Open daily, 10am to midnight for lunch and dinner.
At the back of the Entrepôt independent cinema and bar is a magical restaurant with a huge glassed-in terrace and one of the best private gardens in Paris. Sitting under the trees on a warm day, it’s hard to believe you’re still in the city. The organic French cuisine includes warm goat cheese salad, grilled salmon, and an absolutely sinful fondant chocolate. Reserve for Sunday brunch, 11:30am to 4pm.
R: 6-8 Rue de la Cavalerie, 15th, M° La Motte-Piquet-Grenelle, ☎ 01 45 67 06 85. Bar-restaurant-lounge (€€€€). Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. Reservations a must.
Get one of the best views of the sparkling Eiffel Tower from this trendy penthouse restaurant. Located at the top of a 1930s building (with an elevator, fortunately), “R” is decorated in a hip neo-’70s style and serves decent Asian-fusion cuisine. Be sure to reserve a spot on the glassed-in terrace with unobstructed views of La Tour, especially after dark when the city lights sparkle, even through the smog.
La Villa Corse: 164 Boulevard de Grenelle, 15th, M° Cambronne or La Motte-Piquet-Grenelle, ☎ 01 53 86 70 81. Stylish Corsican (€€€). Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. Reservations highly recommended.
Don’t let the boring location in the shadow of the elevated métro tracks put you off. La Villa Corse is a chic and comfortable restaurant with three dining areas around a central bar, including a salon with bookcases and leather club chairs, and the mezzanine with Mediterranean-style wrought-iron furniture. The menu focuses on fresh and modern Corsican-Mediterranean cuisine, expertly cooked and accompanied by an international wine list.
Tokyo Idem: Palais de Tokyo, 13 Avenue du Président-Wilson, 16th, M° Iéna, ☎ 01 47 20 00 29. Contemporary self-service (€-€€). Open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 11:30pm.
If you know nothing about the Palais de Tokyo, you may think you’ve mistakenly walked onto a construction site. Welcome to the Space for Contemporary Creation, part gallery, part museum exhibition space. Turn left at the entrance and you’ll see the flower-power floor painting of the self-service cafeteria, Tokyo Idem. Kids love this place, with its curvy plastic furniture and wide open spaces. There’s certainly no danger of breaking anything. Grab a tray at the counter for a selection of real food (not sandwiches in a plastic box), and try to find a place to sit down, which can prove difficult during the weekday lunch rush. If you want something a bit more refined (as refined as concrete and exposed electrical wiring can be), there’s a full-service restaurant on the ground floor past the boutique.
Ginette de la Côte d’Azur: 101 Rue Caulaincourt, 18th, M° Lamarck-Caulaincourt, ☎ 01 46 06 01 49. Trendy bistro (€€). Open daily for lunch and dinner (until midnight).
Parisians on the quieter side of the Butte (Montmartre) have fallen in love with the terrace at this stylish bistro, but the unique, art-gallery interior isn’t bad either. House specialties include salmon tartare. Reservations recommended (especially for the fabu terrace).
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